Sounds like these folks are using the Red Cross as their template. You really can fool some of the people all of the time.
There is no rating of Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, the group Rush Limbaugh sent money to after the ebay auction.
And their information is not available free online.
Q. Why don’t we make all of our information freely available on the Internet?
A. We fund our in-depth research on charities from modest membership contributions. We feel that this is a very small price to pay to receive objective and independent ratings that are untarnished by special interests. We are a nonprofit organization with over 95% of our revenue coming from individual membership contributions. We do not receive government or large private foundation grants, nor do we accept any advertising whatsoever. We also do not charge the charities we rate to be listed in our Guide or charge charities for the right to publicize our findings. Relying on small contributions from the public allows us to be fiercely independent, which is critical for any watchdog organization. We hope that the Guide will help you with your charitable giving decisions and that you will receive future issues, a benefit of AIP Membership.
http://www.charitywatch.org/faq.html#free
United Way was hit by some scandal or other along these lines a few years ago so that a lot of people are disinclined to donate anymore. It’s disgusting to see the scam artists picking out a group of unfortunates and profit from the natural sympathy.
1 cent on the dollar. It should be criminal. Unfortunately almost all charities write off most of what they bring in on what they call administrative costs. Others have been known to contribute money to causes other than what the donor intended, like abortion.
The only contribution listed on Open Secrets by a Roger Chapin of San Diego is $1000 to Rep. Eliot Engel (D - NY).
The journalism is almost as bad as the news it presents....There is no mention of the name of the study, who did it, or a listing of the charities and how they ranked. It’s almost a “HA,Ha, I have info you want and you can’t have it” that goes on and on just to torment you more...
FOXNews gives a bit more information about the study. I’m VERY pleased to see that the Fisher House Foundation, which my local Vets Support Group gives freely to, was listed as a trustworthy group!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316763,00.html
Regardless, I have had nothing but positive things to say about the Military Police Regimental Association. The have come through for several soldiers and their families in my unit MP alone.
So much so, that I started to contribute to them.
I got a slick mailing with a dollar bill in it. I know they did it to make you feel guilty and send money. I spent the dollar.
We had a hometown kid badly injured and our whole town raised money to buy him a van and get it converted and money to cover anything he needed. He got so much that he gave a big chunk back and the veteran who had spearheaded the whole deal found another vet who needed help.
That’s one great thing about small towns.